Mai Ge spent an afternoon with Amy and the Ugly Duckling at the small playground. Although the playground was small, but the facilities were exquisite and compact, so it didn't take up much space. There were seesaws, two-seater carousels, little bumper cars, and everything else. Laughter from the father and daughter could be heard from time to time.
"This is so much fun, Daddy! This playground is so much fun, and it's purple, so beautiful! I definitely have to bring Jessica and Daphne here, they'll love it!" Amy said excitedly to Mai Ge, her hair sticking to her forehead with sweat.
"Okay, when they're free, you can invite the kids over to play." Mai Ge smiled and wiped the sweat from Amy's forehead. Looking at the Ugly Ducklings, who were dizzy and disoriented after getting off the carousel, he picked up the two little ones and carried them toward the bathroom, saying, "Alright, that's enough playing this afternoon. I'll give you a bath, and then we'll go downstairs to prepare to open the restaurant."
"Yay! Amy wants to play with bubbles!" Amy exclaimed excitedly.
"Meow meow~" The Ugly Duckling, who had been dazed, immediately woke up at the mention of a bath. It glared at Mai Ge, then twisted its body, trying to escape from his grasp.
"Ugly Duckling, if you don't take a bath, don't sleep in my bed tonight. I don't want to sleep with dirty one." Amy warned the Ugly Duckling.
"Meow~" The Ugly Duckling looked up at Amy, and after a while, it rested its head on Mai Ge's hand with a resigned expression.
"It still needs to take a bath." Mai Ge said with a smile. Cats don't like water or baths, but Amy likes to hold the Ugly Duckling all day long, so he cares about the Ugly Duckling's hygiene and gives it a bath almost everyday.
He placed the Ugly Duckling in its special little basin, and Amy squatted down to gently splash water on it. The fluffy Ugly Duckling instantly became a wet and pitiful little one. After being smeared with rich, foamy shampoo, only its pitiful little head was sticking out. Suddenly, it shook its head, splashing foam at the two of them, which made Amy giggle.
After giving the two little ones a bath and changing Amy into clean clothes, Mai Ge also took a shower and changed into a clean chef's uniform before taking them downstairs.
Yabemia and Sally were sitting downstairs, speechless and in an awkward silence.
After getting to know each other better, Yabemia became a little more talkative, while Sally's personality was somewhat aloof, so most of the time they sat in silence, each with a glass of water.
"Amy's clothes look really nice today." Hearing footsteps, both Yabemia and Sally looked towards the counter. Yabemia smiled at Amy and said, then waved to the Ugly Duckling who followed them out, saying, "Ugly Duckling, come here."
The Ugly Duckling glanced at her, then lazily lowered its eyes, rubbed its little head against Amy's feet, and raised its little paws as if asking for a hug.
"Stay by yourself, I won't hug you." Amy shook her head, then ran towards Yabemia, raised her hands and said in a spoiled tone, "Sister Mia, I want a hug."
"Okay, I'll hug our little princess Amy." Yabemia smiled, reaching out to pick Amy up and letting her sit on her lap.
"So soft, so comfortable." Amy murmured, resting her head on Yabemia's chest, finding a comfortable position, closing her eyes.
"Little one, you're so pretty. You'll definitely grow up to be a great beauty." Yabemia looked down at Amy's delicate face, her long eyelashes trembling slightly. She was already a rising little beauty.
"Hers are really big." Sally looked at Yabemia's chest, then looked down at her own, and felt a little deflated.
"Meow meow~" The Ugly Duckling sat on the ground and looked pitifully at Amy, who was being held by Yabemia.
Mai Ge smiled as he went into the kitchen. He loved the harmonious environment of the restaurant the most, and he felt comfortable around Sally and Mia. As far as he was concerned, he didn't need to hire any more waiters until the restaurant expanded to a larger scale.
Mai Ge was preparing ingredients for the evening's business in the kitchen when he suddenly felt someone behind him. He turned around and saw that it was Yabemia standing in the doorway.
"Boss, I was just looking around..." Yabemia said hastily, her expression flustered.
"Come in if you want to see. The restaurant is doing better and better these days. I was thinking of entrusting you with making ice cream and stuffing Rou Jia Mo. I wonder if you would be willing to do it? If you want to learn other dishes, I can teach you too." Mai Ge said with a smile to Yabemia. Actually, she couldn't see anything from the doorway, so he was sure Mia was telling the truth.
"Leave it to me?" Yabemia's eyes lit up, but she quickly waved her hand and said, "No, boss, I'm not very smart. I definitely won't do it well and I'll ruin the restaurant's reputation."
"How will you know if you can do it well if you don't try? As long as you have a sincere heart to cook for your guests, you will definitely be able to do it well." Mai Ge smiled at her, his eyes full of encouragement.
"Can I really do it?" Yabemia looked into Mai Ge's eyes, his gentle gaze full of encouragement, just like her mother's encouragement to her back then, but she still hesitated.
"Of course you can! Mia is a wonderful girl who can handle all the work in the restaurant, from taking orders to serving food all by herself." Mai Ge nodded confidently.
"Yes, Sister Mia is amazing! Amy wants to eat the ice cream Sister Mia makes." Amy appeared at the kitchen doorway at some point, looking at Yabemia with anticipation.
"You can do it, you can do everything." Sally smiled at Yabemia and said, her eyes also full of encouragement.
"Then...can I give it a try?" Yabemia suddenly felt a surge of confidence, took a step forward, and looked at Mai Ge.
"Of course you can. It's okay if you don't succeed once or twice. It's so hot, we can have some ice cream." Mai Ge nodded with a smile and led Yabemia to the ice cream machine, where he began to explain how to use it.
Although ice cream machines are high-end and fully automatic, but they are very easy to operate. Once you have prepared all the ingredients, you can operate them with a simple one button operation. The most skillful part is catching the first snowball perfectly in the center of the eggshell without breaking it, and the second snowball must land perfectly in the center of the first snowball, keeping both snowballs stable without damaging their shapes.
These two points are indeed technical skills, at least Mai Ge practiced them countless times during his time at the Chef God Trial Ground before he could do them with ease.
"Try it first. Focus and press this button. The ice cream machine will start, and then the ice cream ball will fall. Use this eggshell to catch the ice cream ball..." Mai Ge took an eggshell and began to explain to Yabemia.
Yabemia stood attentively to the side, watching and occasionally asking a question or two. She often operated the dishwasher, so she was immune to these kitchen gadgets that could produce magical reactions with just a touch, and didn't dwell on it too much.
…
"Third Young Master, are you going out?" Engelwey, who was about to leave the Elven Embassy, asked with some surprise as he looked at Bluer who was coming out.
"Isn't it almost mealtime? I've decided to go to the Restaurant Mai Mi again to spy on the enemy." Bluer nodded seriously. He had changed out of his women's clothes into a blue and white robe, and his appearance had returned to normal.